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Leeds United potentially have a huge summer on their hands under Daniel Farke, especially if they were to complete the job and secure promotion from the Championship.

The Whites are in pole position to end their two-year top-flight exile, sitting top of the table with just eight games remaining – whilst also having the best run-in of any side in the title race.

Should they replicate their form from the last few months, there’s no denying Farke will add a third promotion to his CV, but he would face his biggest task in management should he achieve the feat.

Staying in the Premier League after promotion now looks a huge ask given the failures of other clubs in recent years, looking almost certain that all three sides who went up last time around are to drop back down.

Recruitment is vital for any chance of maintaining their top division status, with the hierarchy needing to back the manager, leading to one name already being touted with a move to Elland Road.

Leeds targeting summer move for £20m talent

According to TEAMtalk, Leeds are one of multiple sides plotting a summer move for Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin should they be a Premier League outfit in 2025/26.

The 24-year-old also has admirers from Aston Villa and Brentford, with the Whites potentially facing a battle for his signature in the summer should they want to complete a deal for his services.

The report claims the Scottish side value the Belgian international at around £20m, a figure undoubtedly bolstered by his national team debut during the current international break.

Raskin has made 39 appearances across all competitions in 2024/25, registering two goals and six assists from his central midfield role, whilst also posting solid defensive numbers – winning 4.3 tackles per 90 this campaign.

Whilst it may appear like a hefty fee for a player in a non-top five league, but he possesses some serious talent, potentially being a better option than another player touted with a move to Yorkshire.

Why Raskin would be better than Phillips for Leeds

Kalvin Phillips has been touted with a fairytale return to Leeds this summer, three years after leaving his boyhood side in a £45m deal to join Manchester City to further his career.

However, his move to the Etihad has been nothing short of a disaster, making just 31 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s men, subsequently being sent out on separate spells to West Ham and Ipswich Town.

He’s currently spending the campaign on loan at the latter, but has once again struggled to make an impact, with a move back to Yorkshire potentially getting his career back on track.

However, City are also demanding £20m for his signature, a figure that may be too high given his lack of impact in recent years, with the club needing to put their focus in Raskin as a result.

When comparing the pair’s respective stats from 2024/25, the Belgian has outperformed Phillips in various key areas, further adding to the argument as to why they should steer clear of any reunion.

Raskin, who’s previously been dubbed “superb” by Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge, has registered more progressive carries per 90, whilst also completing more of the passes he’s attempted – highlighting his impressive ability in possession.

He’s also managed to win more tackles per 90, whilst posting more interceptions made per game, showcasing his excellent ball-winning capabilities, making him the perfect box-to-box midfielder in Farke’s system.

Whilst it would be another pricey addition for the 49ers this summer, it’s one that needs to be made to hand the club the best possible chance of survival should they achieve promotion.

Phillips will remain a modern-day club icon after his previous stint in Yorkshire, but his lack of form since his move is a cause for concern, with the hierarchy needing to act with their head instead of their heart this summer – subsequently targeting Raskin over the former fan-favourite.

Not just Bamford: 49ers must sell Leeds dud who's rinsed them of £20m

Leeds United need to brutally offload Patrick Bamford and one other star this summer.

By
Ethan Lamb

Mar 26, 2025

He might have scored a goal in the Champions League last week, but it seems fair to say that starting Mikel Merino up top has not worked for Arsenal.

The Spanish midfielder saved the day against Leicester City last month, and while he’s done certain parts of the job well, he’s not someone who can be relied on to step into the role amid an injury crisis.

Fortunately, Gabriel Martinelli returned to the team yesterday afternoon and can hopefully start down the middle until the end of the season.

However, with Gabriel Jesus out until next year and Kai Havertz not coming back until preseason at the earliest, Mikel Arteta and Co need to sign a new number nine as soon as possible, and the good news is that recent reports suggest that they may have found the perfect option, a player who’d be a colossal upgrade on Merino.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal have drawn up a list of seven striker targets for the summer, with Lautaro Martínez near the very top.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

In fact, the report claims that there is currently speculation that the North Londoners are planning to make an offer for the Argentine superstar of around €120m, which comes out to £101m.

However, as things stand, it’s unclear if that will be enough to tempt Inter Milan into selling their prized centre-forward, who was their top scorer last season and is second on that list this year.

It will almost certainly be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line this summer, but given Martínez’s immense ability, it is one well worth pursuing, especially as he’d be a massive upgrade on all of Arsenal’s choices, including Merino.

Why Martínez would be a game-changer for Arsenal

Now, while there are several reasons Martínez would be a game-changing signing for Arsenal, from his track record of winning major trophies to his slick, free-flowing style of play, the most important is that he is a reliable scorer of goals and provider of assists.

For example, in just 44 appearances for Inter last season, the World Cup winner scored 27 goals and provided three assists, which comes out to a goal involvement every 1.46 games.

In comparison, Jesus produced 16 goal involvements in 36 games, while Havertz hit 21 in 51, equating to a goal involvement every 2.25 and 2.42 games, respectively.

Interestingly, even though the Argentine, who renowned football podcaster Angelo Valdes described as “the best 9 in the world,” has been a little less effective this term, he’s still comfortably ahead, with a tally of 17 goals and six assists in 38 appearances.

In contrast, the Gunners’ Brazilian forward has nine goal involvements in 27 games, and the German has hit 15 goals and five assists in 34 games.

For his part, Merino actually has the best goal involvement-to-game ratio of the lot, as he’s found the back of the net three times and provided one assist in five appearances up top.

However, two of those goals came against Leicester, while the other and his assist arrived in the 7-1 thrashing of PSV Eindhoven.

In the other games, against West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, he looked entirely out of his depth with football.london’s Tom Canton awarding him match ratings of just 5/10 for each encounter.

Ultimately, Arsenal have a number of talented forwards, but none can be described as prolific, and while Arteta couldn’t rely on Merino to step up when he needed him to, Martínez’s incredible trophy haul suggests he very much could be relied upon.

Berta can land Rodri 2.0 for Arsenal in one of "the best CMs in the world"

The incredible international would improve Arsenal’s midfield.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Mar 8, 2025

“It’s designed for Marnus and Smith,” says veteran seamer of latest action tweak

Vithushan Ehantharajah22-Apr-2023

Stuart Broad, bopping around Lord’s in Nottinghamshire stash. Stuart Broad posting candid shots of a ground he’s playing at for the 29th time in his career to his Instagram story. Stuart Broad, commuting in from Wimbledon, on the underground for the first two days of this fixture with Middlesex, and probably again on Sunday after driving in on Saturday, given it’s the London Marathon. He’ll take a view in the morning.For those that lament county cricket’s loss of quaintness, Broad has spent the last three days embodying the modern oddities it still harbours. And he made a clear distinction that, whatever tweeness remains in this thing we all care for, imperfections and all, it does not need to be dismissed as irreverent whimsy. Everything that happened counted, everything that happened mattered.With 4 for 68, the veteran England seamer led Nottinghamshire to a 90-run first-innings lead which swelled to 248 by stumps. Through 22 overs, the 36-year-old stepped up his tapering for an international schedule of six Tests across seven weeks – two of them back here at Lord’s – with an Ashes series in full view for one of its recurring main characters.Having picked up Pieter Malan with the final ball on Friday, Broad’s gutting of a spluttering Middlesex engine room contained nuggets of things to come. Most notably an outswinger brought about by technical changes workshopped with Notts bowling coach Kevin Shine – primarily through holding his bowling hand higher to allow smoother flow into release.Last week’s uprooting of Cameron Bancroft’s off stump was exactly this, leaving Broad encouraged at its development. It is a developing weapon in his armoury with other, higher-profile Australians in its sights.”It’s designed, to be honest, for Marnus [Labuschagne] and [Steve] Smith,” Broad said. “It’s the reason I wanted to change something, to try and bring their outside edge in more.”My stock delivery will always be wobble seam trying to nip back on off stump, because I think that’s the most dangerous ball. But to those guys, I think dragging them across with away swing is important. So this action tweak is pretty much designed at those two, and it was good to see it really swinging away today.”Bar a yorker to Luke Hollman that swung into the left-hander to trap him lbw, the delivery was mostly a prop, dragging the odd right-hander outside off stump with a 2023 Dukes ball far better than 2022’s. “It couldn’t be any worse, to be honest,” Broad said.At present, he is down for two more Championship matches before the Ireland Test at the start of June. Notts have the next round off, before hosting Lancashire and Essex at Trent Bridge. James Anderson, currently toiling on a flat one against Somerset, messaged Broad on Saturday with an early request for a green seamer. Alas, for all Broad’s pull, that decision rests in someone else’s hands. But the aims of doing right for Notts and himself – and England – run parallel over the next month.”Four feels like a good number,” Broad said, “to try and make a good impact for Notts but also to get workloads where I want them to be. I wanted to backload quite a few overs in this period because of the Ashes.”No bowler’s going to play six games in seven weeks. I want to be able to have that workload to fall back on that if I miss two weeks Test cricket, say, or three weeks, when I get my chance I’m good to go.”The aim for the next 24 hours is to beat the rain before beating Middlesex. What looked an apocalyptic Sunday forecast seems to have dropped down a few grades in the last few hours, enough for Broad to focus on helping Notts to a second win in as many games. If, as expected, there is no play before 1pm, one imagines the visitors’ second innings won’t go beyond the 50.5 overs managed in the final half of day three.That they needed 82 overs to dismiss Middlesex in the first innings won’t bother them too much, particularly given that effort, at this juncture, is an anomaly. This was was the first time Middlesex have managed a batting point in five attempts, brought up by a full-blooded pull shot from their skipper. The bad news was Toby Roland-Jones’ boundary was more about desperation than fulfilling side quests as the hosts were nine down.A strong start of 111 for 2 was wasted when the final eight fell for just 163. The worst of it was a middle-order collapse of four for 51, as much instigated by Broad as batters wandering into traps loaded with obvious bait.Stephen Eskinazi and Max Holden, Broad’s second and third, were the most culpable, partly because of telegraphed tweaks in the field. Matt Mongomery asked skipper Steven Mullaney (stood at mid-off) if he had the right angle around the corner like a van driver being guided into a parking spot by a pedestrian. Haseeb Hameed almost brought out the spirit level when adopting a carpenter’s level of accuracy to ensure he was equidistant between the catchers at square leg and midwicket,Broad’s observation from years of bowling from the Pavilion End was how often the ball travels in the air through leg slip, which now seems to be a problem area for Eskinazi. The dismissal of Holden, as it happens, was the work of Ben Duckett, who recalled Holden’s penchant for an aerial flick in that region from their days together at Northamptonshire.Yet again, Ryan Higgins was responsible for instilling some credibility, though at least this time he could build upon Mark Stoneman’s 76, the end of which – lbw to Hutton – brought the allrounder to the crease. Higgins was unperturbed by the short stuff and clinical with anything full, and crunched a pull shot well in front of square on the legside for a sixth boundary to take him to a third half-century in five innings. An attempted late cut off the very next ball from Lyndon James saw him take out his own off stump.That “favour” was returned with interest when Higgins took out James’ leg stump at about 6.30pm, bowling the right-hander around his legs and drawing more enthusiasm from those remaining in the stands. It was a very necessary inroad, ending the most productive partnership of Nottinghamshire’s second innings on 45.By then, at 133 for 6, Nottinghamshire’s lead of 223 was spilling over into daunting for the hosts, particularly with Joe Clarke settling into a groove. The early loss of Duckett for 170 less than he managed in the first innings was a mini-victory and no less than Ethan Bamber deserved for a quality set of 14 overs for his 2 for 26.Likewise, Hollman’s legspinner through Ben Slater and the lbw of Clarke after he had registered his first half-century of the season, were moments of worthwhile retaliation from Middlesex.More will be required on Sunday, however much play the weather allows. To lose this match for three defeats from three would already be catastrophic for Middlesex’s Division One survival hopes. Rain would be their saviour.

Litton Das has been named the Bangladesh captain for their three-match ODI series against India at home starting in Dhaka on Sunday.Tamim Iqbal, the regular ODI captain, had earlier pulled out of the series because of a groin injury. He is also doubtful for the Test series that begins in Chattogram on December 14. Taskin Ahmed has also been ruled out of the first ODI because of a back injury.Litton has not captained Bangladesh in an ODI before but led them in a T20I back in April 2021. He did not have the best of outings at the time, falling for a first-ball duck in a rain-shortened game. He has, however, been in excellent form across formats for Bangladesh and is their highest scorer in ODIs this year with 500 runs in ten innings averaging 62.50.”Litton is one of the more experienced players in the side and has demonstrated leadership qualities. He has a sharp cricketing mind and reads the game well,” Jalal Yunus, BCB’s chairman of cricket operations, said in a statement. “It is most unfortunate to lose Tamim to injury for this very important series, especially because under his captaincy the team has played some outstanding cricket in the last couple of years and he has been our most prolific batsman in this format.”While no replacements have been named for Tamim, Shoriful Islam has been called up the side for Taskin.Bangladesh have been on a role in ODIs under Tamim’s leadership, winning eight out of 12 matches played this year. They are placed fifth on the ODI Super League table and are one of seven teams to have qualified directly for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.The ODI series between Bangladesh and India gets underway on December 4 in Dhaka, with the second match to be played at the same venue on December 7. The final game of the series will be staged at Chattogram on December 10.

علق لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي برشلونة ومنتخب إسبانيا، بيدري، على أول صفقات الفريق الكتالوني خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية.

ويسعى مدرب برشلونة، هانز فليك، إلى إجراء تعزيزات في صفوف فريقه استعدادًا للموسم المقبل، من أجل المنافسة على لقبي دوري أبطال أوروبا والدوري الإسباني.

اقرأ ايضاً.. برشلونة يقدم عرضًا لضم لويس دياز من ليفربول.. والأخير يرد

وارتبط حارس مرمى إسبانيول، خوان جارسيا، بالانتقال إلى صفوف برشلونة خلال الميركاتو الصيفي الجاري.

وحصل برشلونة على الضوء الأخضر من حارس إسبانيول خوان جارسيا، على التوقيع معه، ولم يتبق سوى أن يدفع الفريق الكتالوني الشرط الجزائي في عقد اللاعب البالغ 25 مليون يورو.

ورغم أنه من المرجح أن يتم الإعلان عن الصفقة رسمياً الأسبوع المقبل، إلا أن لاعب برشلونة، بيدري، أكد توقيع جارسيا بالفعل.

وأكد بيدري، خلال حديثه لوسائل الإعلام قبل مباراة إسبانيا ضد فرنسا في نصف نهائي دوري الأمم الأوروبية الليلة، وصول جوان جارسيا إلى برشلونة، مشيرا إلى أن حارس المرمى سينضم إلى أفضل فريق في العالم.

وقال بيدري: “خوان جارسيا سينضم إلى أفضل فريق في العالم، وأتمنى له النجاح”.

Tottenham Hotspur have now restarted talks to sign an “exceptional” defender on loan, and his own club are pushing for the move, according to a report.

Tel deal back on as Spurs seek double deadline day signing

At one stage, it looked as though Tottenham’s hopes of signing Mathys Tel were fading away, with the Bayern Munich forward previously making it clear he was unwilling to make the move to north London, despite Daniel Levy travelling to hold talks. However, Tel has now reconsidered his stance and is en-route to London to complete a medical ahead of a loan deal until the end of the campaign.

The 19-year-old has been pictured on a plane with agent Gadiri Camara, with the transfer saga taking a major twist over the past few hours, but he is not the only player Spurs want through the door before the 11pm deadline.

Ange Postecoglou’s side had a £70m bid for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi rejected earlier today, with the manager keen to bolster his struggling defence, while there has also been interest in Chelsea’s Axel Disasi.

At one stage, the deal for Disasi looked like it was off, but The Boot Room report Tottenham have restarted talks to sign the defender, and there is seemingly a decent chance he completes a move across the capital. That is because Chelsea are now pushing hard for the centre-back to join Spurs, rather than Aston Villa, despite the player himself previously making it clear he would rather make the move to Villa Park.

The Blues expect the 26-year-old to leave before the transfer deadline, and they would rather ship him out on loan to their London rivals, as they view Villa as direct competition for the Champions League places.

Despite an impressive victory at Brentford, Postecoglou’s side are still languishing in 14th and unlikely to push for the European places.

Related Sky Sports journalist drops live TV Mathys Tel to Tottenham transfer update

There has been a key update on Spurs’ pursuit of the attacker…

Posts ByDominic Lund Feb 3, 2025 Not an ideal situation for Spurs

Tottenham chiefs have already found themselves in a position where a player has been uninterested in joining, before making a U-turn, with Tel now set to complete a move despite a lack of interest just a few days ago.

It seems as though a move to N17 is also a second-choice option for Disasi, which is far from ideal for Spurs, and they should be sure to only pursue a move if he is definitely committed, rather than simply finding himself forced out at Chelsea.

If the Lilywhites get the best version of the Chelsea man, there are clear signs he could help shore up their leaky backline, having previously been lauded as “exceptional” by members of the media.

Amid the ongoing injury crisis Postecoglou is faced with, he must bring in a new defender in the next few hours, and Disasi’s versatility would be an added bonus, with the Frenchman also capable of slotting in at right-back, having featured in that area 11 times this season.

Luke Wells apologised for part in penalty following outburst against Northants

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2022Lancashire have been deducted six points in this year’s LV= County Championship by the Cricket Discipline Commission panel.The club, who are not in action in this week’s round of games, remain third in this year’s Division One title race, but are now 35 points adrift of the leaders Hampshire, and 30 back from Surrey, whom they face in the final round.In a statement, Lancashire acknowledged the CDC’s independence from the ECB in disciplinary matters, and that they have no right of appeal. However, the club also put on record its dissatisfaction with the sanction, which has effectually ended their outside hopes of challenging for the title.”Following all our hard work throughout the winter and in the County Championship this season, to be deducted points for what are, in our opinion, minor indiscretions is gut-wrenching,” Mark Chilton, the director of cricket, told the club website.Lancashire were handed a maximum 12-point suspended punishment in November 2021 after an accumulation of fixed penalties for pitch and/or equipment damage during the preceding 12 months, and Chilton recognised that that had been a factor in the punishment.”With our suspended sentence from previous indiscretions, we knew the position we were in at the start of the season, addressed this as a group and set our expectations of one another,” he added.”In our opinion, both fixed penalties we received were unduly harsh punishments, which could have gone either way, and it is this inconsistency in the decision-making that makes this difficult to take.”This year’s “minimum level one offences” were committed by Dane Vilas, against Warwickshire in June, and Luke Wells against Northamptonshire in July, and in a subsequent Twitter post, Wells apologised for the outbursts that had played a part in the punishment.”I’m gutted that I was implicated in this after hitting my bat on the ground after being bowled last year v Glamorgan at Cardiff and shouting in frustration whilst inside the changing room at Northants,” Wells wrote. “Apologies to Lancs fans and of course the lads who’ve scrapped so hard for every single point we’ve got this year.”

Seventeen-year-old leg spinner Luc Benkenstein sliced through the Glamorgan middle-order with six wickets in 36 balls to ease Essex to back-to-back Royal London Cup victories at sizzling Chelmsford.Benkenstein, the son of former South African all-rounder Dale, who is first-team coach at Gloucestershire, took advantage of the sort of conditions that have helped to make Simon Harmer the most formidable spin bowler in the countryHe only made his debut against Durham less than a week ago, at his dad’s old stamping ground at Chester-le-Street, and had not taken a wicket for Essex’s first team when he came on to bowl the 22nd over with Glamorgan making good progress towards their target of 342.His incredible quick-fire haul changed that – and crucially it included the crucial wicket of Sam Northeast, who was in the process of batting himself back into form with an 81-ball 70. Benkenstein finished with figures of 6-42 in the 103-run win.”I’m a bit overwhelmed to tell you the truth at the moment, ” he said. “It was a great team performance in the end in very warm conditions so it was unbelievable from the boys.Getting the wicket of Northeast was very satisfying, he was going very well but I knew if I got it in the right place, he was eventually going to have to go after me because the run-rate was creeping up. Luckily, I got it in the right place and so today it was my day but on another, it could have been his.”We could do with some rain on the outfield. Quite a few of the lads have got nasty cuts and a lot of blood over their shirts but they are a terrific bunch of lads and they put their bodies on the line whatever the conditions.”Essex’s imposing total, after electing to bat against the reigning champions, was underpinned by a second-wicket partnership of 203 – a record for any Essex wicket in the competition against Glamorgan – between Feroze Khushi and Tom Westley, who both finished with 104 to their names.Related

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For Khushi his 86-ball knock, including five sixes, was his second century of the season, scored on successive Sundays, while Westley recorded a ton in consecutive matches from 110 balls. However, once they departed Essex crashed from 247-3 to 303-9 in the blink of an eye with Andrew Salter’s off-breaks claiming 3-72.Glamorgan’s tails were up when Josh Rymell thick-edged the second legitimate ball of the game from James Harris to slip. They had to wait more than 30 overs for their second success by which time Essex had motored beyond 200.In between Khushi and Westley set about the bowling with an almost nonchalant relish. Westley, coming in at No3, dominated the initial part of the partnership, contributing 49 of the first hundred and then reaching his own half-century from 51 balls.The younger Khushi was slightly more subdued at the outset and managed just two fours in his fifty scored from 57 balls, but he kept the scoreboard ticking along with singles and doubles.However, it was in the latter stages of his innings that he burst into life. His first fifty included a straight six off the unfortunate Douthwaite. There was a second swept off Prem Sisodiya before Colin Ingram was taken out of the attack after three legside sixes in an over that had the umpires reaching regularly for the spares box.Khushi’s second fifty took just 29 balls as a single to deep cover took him to three-figures. But in the same over he played all around a delivery from David Lloyd and was bowled.Westley was a spectator for a spell while Khushi ran rampant, but reached his own ton with a push into the onside from his 101st ball. But he was bamboozled by a delivery from Salter that was going down legside, he overbalanced and was stumped off a wide.The two centurions removed, Glamorgan’s bowlers suddenly detected a soft underbelly and six wickets went down in six overs before a last-wicket flourish added 38Only Grant Roelofsen, entering at No4, avoided the carnage at the other end and finished unbeaten on 69 from 55 balls, reaching his half-century with a six into the visitors’ dressing room.In response, Lloyd struck seven boundaries in a 17-ball 30 before he picked out Snater on the square-leg boundary to give New Zealander Ray Toole a first wicket on debut.Apart from a pulled six, Ingram struggled for any fluency despite a half-century stand with Northeast. He had reached 17 from 25 balls when he took a swish at Nijjar and was lbw.Northeast lost his captain Kiran Carlson after another fifty partnership when he chopped Benkenstein to backward point. Benkenstein’s second followed soon after when Northeast decided to charge and was stumped by Roelofsen, and the third arrived when Khushi raced in from the cover boundary to dive and dismiss Tom Bevan.Douthwaite leant back and tried to force Benkenstein away, only to play on. Two balls later Tom Cullen went walkabouts and was stumped.Nijjar had Weighell caught behind off an attempted reverse sweep before Benkenstein returned to dismiss Harris, courtesy of Nijjar’s snatch around the corner off a top edge.

Ruben Amorim has the opportunity in January to make his own mark on the Manchester United squad after taking the reins from Erik ten Hag at the end of November.

The 39-year-old has had to work with the additions made by his predecessor, only winning two Premier League matches since his appointment, coming against Everton and local rivals Manchester City.

Incomings and outgoings are to be expected this month, as the hierarchy look to back the manager to allow him to be a success during his stint at Old Trafford.

Ten days into the window, there’s yet to be any movement in either direction, but numerous names have already been linked with a move to the North West.

However, two deals could fall into place as a result, potentially handing the new manager with ammunition needed to turn around the poor early season form.

Manchester United January transfer update

In recent days, it’s been confirmed that United are willing to part ways with academy star Alejandro Garnacho this month if an acceptable bid comes their way this month.

Atlético Madrid are one of the sides who have already been linked with a move to re-sign the Argentine after he joined the Red Devils from the Spanish side back in 2020.

The 20-year-old has scored eight goals in 29 outings across all competitions, but has since been left out of multiple matches by Amorim in what he described as a “tactical decision”.

Such a departure could open the door for a new arrival, with Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia already touted with a big-money move to Old Trafford this window.

The Georgian international could leave the Serie A side for €80m (£67m), but United would face major competition from Chelsea, Liverpool and PSG for his signature.

He’s undoubtedly an elite-level talent, scoring 30 goals in the last three seasons, but could potentially be out of the hierarchy’s price range given the cost-cutting operation in place.

A reason for concern? Perhaps not…

Man Utd's own version of Kvaratskhelia

Should Garnacho be offloaded, many supporters would undoubtedly view Kvaratskhelia as the perfect player to come in and replace the youngster at Old Trafford.

However, Amorim may already have his own version of the Georgian international in the form of academy star Ethan Ennis, who has caught the eye in recent months.

The 20-year-old has made 12 appearances for the U21 side in all competitions during 2024/25, scoring six times and registering two assists – featuring in the EFL trophy in recent months.

Ennis already has a professional contract at the Theatre of Dreams but is yet to make a single appearance for the club’s first team, but could do just that in the next few months should the Argentine depart.

He’s since been ranked as a similar player to potential new addition Kvaratskhelia by talent scout Jacek Kulig, with his ability to feature all across the frontline undoubtedly of use to the United manager.

His “explosive” pace, as described by Kulig, could also be of use, but his end product is also something that catches the eye, producing a superb catalogue of goals for the academy side.

There’s no denying that there’s a huge jump between the youth setup and first-team, but Garnacho is evidence that when handing opportunities to youngsters, the benefits are there to be had.

Ennis could be the latest beneficiary of the club’s superb academy, possessing a lot of qualities that could see him jump into Amorim’s plans in the near future.

Given his comparison to the Napoli star, the homegrown gem would help to save the club millions if he is promoted, fitting into the board’s cost-cutting scheme, whilst also furthering his development and allowing the fans to forget about current ace Garnacho.

He's like Vinicius Jr: Man Utd chasing exciting £33m Rashford upgrade

Manchester United may have already found the perfect Marcus Rashford replacement.

ByEthan Lamb Jan 10, 2025

أعلن مجلس إدارة نادي الأهلي رسميًا، اليوم الأحد، قبول اعتذار جديد من أحد أعضاء الجهاز الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم، وذلك بعد المرحلة الصعبة التي يعيشها الفريق.

ويعيش الأهلي في أزمة حقيقية، بعد توديعه منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، عقب التعادل الإيجابي أمام صن داونز بنتيجة 1-1، على أرضه وبين جماهيره، وسط أداء غير مقنع من اللاعبين أو تدخل من الجهاز الفني.

وقبل الأهلي رسمياً الاعتذار الذي تقدم به سامي قمصان، مدرب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم، بعدم الاستمرار في عمله. 

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كما وجه الأهلي الشكر لسامي قمصان عما قدمه من جهد كبير، وعطاء لا محدود طوال سنوات عديدة كان خلالها نموذجًا في الالتزام والإخلاص، والحرص على مصلحة الأهلي في كل المواقف.

الجدير بالذكر أن الأهلي قد أعلن أيضاً قبول اعتذار محمد رمضان، المدير الرياضي، مع توجيه الشكر والتقدير له على الجهود الكبيرة التي بذلها منذ توليه المسؤولية، وكذلك لإسهاماته الإدارية وروحه المتميزة في العمل وتفانيه في أداء مهامه طوال الفترة الماضية.